The is given annually by the Directors Guild of Japan

Directors Guild of Japan

The is a trade union created to represent the interests of film directors in the film industry in Japan. It was founded in 1936, with Minoru Murata serving as the first president, and has continued to this day apart from a period between 1943 and 1949 when it was disbanded at first on orders from...

 to a new director of a film released that year who is considered the most "suitable" for the award. The winner is selected by a committee formed of DGJ members. All formats—feature film, documentary, television, video, etc.—are eligible for consideration. In some years when there was no apparent winner, the Guild only issued a "citation" or did not give out the award. Multiple awards have been given in other years. With a long history, many of Japan's major postwar directors have received the award, including Nagisa Ōshima

Nagisa Oshima

is a Japanese film director and screenwriter. After graduating from Kyoto University he was hired by Shochiku Ltd. and quickly progressed to directing his own movies, making his debut feature A Town of Love and Hope in 1959....

, Susumu Hani

Susumu Hani

is a Japanese film director, and one of the most prominent representatives of the 1960s Japanese New Wave. Born in Tokyo, he has directed both documentaries and feature films....

, Yoshimitsu Morita, Masayuki Suo

Masayuki Suo

is a Japanese film director. He is perhaps best known for his two Japan Academy Prize-winning films, 1992's Sumo Do, Sumo Don't and 1996's Shall We Dance?.According to Suo:- Life and career :...

, Takeshi Kitano

Takeshi Kitano

is a Japanese filmmaker, comedian, singer, actor, film editor, presenter, screenwriter, author, poet, painter, and one-time video game designer who has received critical acclaim, both in his native Japan and abroad, for his highly idiosyncratic cinematic work. The famed Japanese film critic...

, and Shunji Iwai

Shunji Iwai

is a Japanese film director/video artist, writer and documentarian.-Life and career:Iwai was born in Sendai, Japan, Miyagi prefecture. He attended Yokohama National University, graduating in 1987....

.

Recipients

Recipients of the Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award

Year	Winner	Film	Notes
1960		Cruel Story of Youth Cruel Story Of Youth , was the second film directed by Nagisa Oshima.Oshima, who was only 28 at the time, made extensive use of hand-held cameras and location shooting, and the results drew comparisons to the French nouvelle vague filmmakers emerging at around the same time; the film became one of the primary films in...
1961		Bad Boys
1962		Foundry Town Foundry Town is a 1962 Japanese drama film directed by Kirio Urayama. It was entered into the 1962 Cannes Film Festival and won the Blue Ribbon Awards in 1962.-Cast:* Sayuri Yoshinaga - Jun* Mitsuo Hamada - Tsukamoto, Katsumi* Eijirō Tōno - Ishiguro, Tatsugoro...
1963			No award
1964			No award
1965		Nihon rettō
1966		Yakuza (893) gurentai
1967		Hikō shōnen: Hinode no sakebi
1968			No award
1969		Oretachi no kōya	Citation only
1970		Summer in Narita
1971		Yasashii Nipponjin
1972		Female Convict #701: Scorpion Female Convict 701: Scorpion is a film based on a manga by Tōru Shinohara in the "Women in Prison" sub-genre of Pinky violence Pink films made by Toei Company in 1972. The first in a series, the film starred Meiko Kaji and was Shunya Itō's directorial debut.-Plot:...	Citation only
1973		Confidential: The Hell of Tortured Prostitutes	Citation only
1974			No award
1975			No award
1976		Futatsu no hāmonika	Citation only
1977		Hoshizora no marionetto
1978			No award
1979		Keiko Keiko (film) Keiko is a 1979 Japanese film directed by Claude Gagnon. It won the Special Award at the 1979 Hochi Film Awards.-Cast:*Junko Wakashiba as Keiko*Akiko Kitamura as Kazuyo*Takuma Ikeuchi as Masaru*Toshio Hashimoto as Terayama*Nobuo Nakanishi as Noguchi...
1980		Muddy River Muddy River (film) Muddy River is a 1981 Japanese film directed by Kôhei Oguri. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.-External links:...	Citation only
1981		Gaki teikoku	Citation only
1982			No award
1983		The Family Game The Family Game is a Japanese movie that was directed by Yoshimitsu Morita in 1983. The movie portrays the changing dynamics of Japanese family life around the time...
1984			No award
1985		Early Spring Story Early Spring Story is a 1985 Japanese film directed by Shinichirō Sawai.-Awards and nominations:9th Japan Academy Prize.*Won: Best Director - Shinichirō Sawai7th Yokohama Film Festival*Won: Best Actress - Tomoyo Harada*5th Best Film...
1986		The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On is an award-winning 1987 documentary by director Kazuo Hara. The documentary centers on 62-year-old veteran of Japan's Second World War campaign in New Guinea, Kenzo Okuzaki, and follows him around as he searches out those responsible for the unexplained deaths of two soldiers in his old unit...
1987		Robinson's Garden
1988		Yun's Town
1989		Dotsuitarunen Dotsuitarunen is a 1989 Japanese film directed by Junji Sakamoto.-Awards and nominations:11th Yokohama Film Festival*Won: Best Film*Won: Best New Director - Junji Sakamoto*Won: Best Supporting Actor - Yoshio Harada...	Two winners
1989		Untamagiru Untamagiru is a 1989 Japanese film directed by Gō Takamine. It is magical realist story of the legendary Okinawan hero Untamagiru participating in efforts to form an independent Okinawa before the island was returned to Japan in 1972. Many of the characters speak in the Okinawan language and thus mainland...	Two winners
1990		Boiling Point	Two winners; citation only
1990		Shimaguni konjō	Two winners; citation only
1991		Sumo Do, Sumo Don't Sumo Do, Sumo Don't is a 1992 Japanese film directed by Masayuki Suo. It was chosen as Best Film at the Japan Academy Prize ceremony.-Synopsis:In order to graduate from college in a timely manner, and to gain the job waiting for him due to his family connections, Shuhei must join the school's sumo team to please his...
1992		The Games Teachers Play	Multiple winners
1992		Pineapple Tours	Multiple winners
1992		Pineapple Tours	Multiple winners
1992		Pineapple Tours	Multiple winners
1993		Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom? Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom? Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom? , usually called Fireworks, is a 1993 Japanese film by writer/director Shunji Iwai. The film was shot by Koji Kanaya, while its lighting director was Hiroyuki Sumida...	Two winners
1993		My Wife Is Filipina	Two winners
1994		This Window Is Yours
1995		BeRLIN Berlin Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
1996		Two People Talking
1997		Twentieth Century Nostalgia
1998		Pornostar
1999		Moonlight Whispers Moonlight Whispers is a 1999 Japanese film directed by Akihiko Shiota. The film is based on the manga Gekko no sasayaki.Boy meets girl , they fall in love... Don't Look Back Don't Look Back (1999 film) is a 1999 Japanese film directed by Akihiko Shiota....
2000		Boy's Choir
2001		Pain
2002		Through the Night Through the night Euroclassic Notturno is a six-hour sequence of classical music recordings assembled by BBC Radio from material supplied by members of the European Broadcasting Union and streamed back to those broadcasters by satellite for use in their overnight classical-music schedules...
2003		Chirusoku no natsu Chirusoku no natsu is a 2003 Japanese film directed by Kiyoshi Sasabe....
2004		Dogs & Cats
2005		The Soup, One Morning
2006		Kazoku no hiketsu
2007		German + Rain
2008		One Million Yen Girl
2009		8000 Miles
2010		Kenta to Jun to Kayo-chan no kuni